1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to user-to-user commerce within a social networking system. More specifically, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to managing commerce-related communications within a social networking system.
2. Background and Relevant Art
While commercial settings are commonly utilized for the purchase of goods, people also buy and sell goods in non-commercial settings. For example, garage sales, yard sales, and estate sales provide a setting where individuals can negotiate the sale and purchase of a wide range of goods. These informal, non-commercial settings embody the notion that “one man's trash is another man's treasure,” and provide individuals with ways to sell things they no longer want, or purchase things they need for less than they would typically spend in a commercial setting.
It is not surprising that the garage sale format of buying and selling goods has transitioned online via social networking systems. A social networking system generally allows for the formation of forum-like groups. Social networking system users can join a social networking system group to participate in discussions, ask questions, post articles, etc. In some cases, a social networking system group can function like a neighborhood garage sale and allow users to submit sale listings that advertise goods they would like to buy or sell. Users can utilize the functionality of the social networking system to inquire after a particular item they would like to buy, or sell a particular item that they no longer need.
Additionally, users can also buy and sell items within a social networking system independent of social networking groups. For example, a user's personal newsfeed can include social networking posts from other users of the social networking system (e.g., the user's “friends”). The user can also create posts, which may be included in the newsfeeds of other social networking system users. Thus, for example, a user can create a social networking system post advertising an item for sale or inquiring after an item the user would like to purchase, and submit the social networking system post to the social networking system for inclusion in the newsfeeds of other users.
Problems arise when a user utilizes a social networking system to advertise that the user wants to buy a particular item. For example, a user may compose a “want to buy” social networking system post (otherwise known as an “in search of” or “ISO” post) that describes the particular item the user is looking to purchase, and asking whether another social networking system user may be willing to sell the particular item or have information for purchasing the particular item. Want to buy posts, however, are generally not uniform because each post is simply composed in whatever manner that the author sees fit. Furthermore, social networking systems conventionally treat want to buy posts with little to no regard for their unique nature. This makes it difficult for users to distinguish between a standard post and a want to buy post. In addition, social networking systems do not conventionally optimize the delivery of want to buy posts to other social networking system users. For example, the social networking system may not deliver the want to buy post to users that would be most interested in the posts. Thus, both potential buyers and sellers may lose out on transaction opportunities made available through want to buy posts because of the nature and treatment of typical social networking communications.
Thus, there are several disadvantages to current methods for managing commerce-related communications within a social networking system.